Thank You Waitrose Harrogate: £1,000 for the David Brown Foundation

We are delighted to share that the David Brown Foundation was selected as one of Waitrose Harrogate’s three Community Matters causes for the first quarter of 2026, receiving an incredible £1,000 donation following support from local shoppers.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Waitrose Harrogate, everyone who used their green token to vote for us and, especially, Olivia Harrison, who kindly nominated the David Brown Foundation for the scheme.

For a small charity like ours, support from our local community means an enormous amount, and every pound helps us continue our mission of helping young people thrive in education.

What is Waitrose Community Matters?

Community Matters is Waitrose’s way of giving back to the communities that are home to its stores.

The initiative gives shoppers a direct say in which local causes receive funding. Customers collect a green token at the checkout before placing it into the voting box for the cause that means the most to them.

At the end of the voting period, funding is awarded according to the number of votes each of the three selected causes receives, with donations of £1,500, £1,000 and £500 available.

Since its introduction, Waitrose Community Matters has donated more than £50 million to good causes, supporting charities and organisations making a difference in communities throughout the UK.

To be selected as one of the causes represented at Waitrose Harrogate was therefore a wonderful opportunity for the David Brown Foundation and seeing local shoppers choose to support our work made it even more special.

An Incredible £1,000 for Brighter Futures

Following the first quarter of voting, we were thrilled to discover that the David Brown Foundation had been awarded £1,000. Every green token placed beside our name represented someone in our local community choosing to support the work we do.

Those individual votes added up to something that will make a genuine difference.

The £1,000 will help us continue funding projects and opportunities that support children and young people in education across the North of England.

Whether we are helping to remove financial barriers to educational experiences, supporting innovative programmes within schools or investing in the teachers who work with young people every day, our aim remains the same: to create opportunities that help young people fulfil their potential.

Thank You, Olivia

This opportunity began with one person putting our name forward, so we want to give a very special thank you to Olivia Harrison for nominating the David Brown Foundation.

Olivia's nomination ultimately resulted in £1,000 being donated to support our work – a brilliant example of how one simple act of support can have a much wider impact.

We are incredibly grateful.

Thank You, Harrogate

The David Brown Foundation was created in memory of David Brown, an inspirational teacher who dedicated his career to education and supporting young people.

David had strong roots in Yorkshire, and the Foundation continues his legacy by helping create educational opportunities for children and young people across the North of England.

Having our work recognised and supported by the Harrogate community is therefore particularly meaningful to us.

To every person who picked up a green token and chose the David Brown Foundation: thank you.

Thank you to Olivia for nominating us, thank you to the team at Waitrose Harrogate for choosing us as one of their Community Matters causes, and thank you to everyone who voted.

You helped turn those little green tokens into an incredible £1,000 for brighter futures.

And we can't wait to put it to good use.